By WP Creative Group

February 1, 2024

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Mail
• Link

As the fifth-generation president of a family-owned, 146-year-old company, it’s not just Max Bissell’s job to ensure BISSELL continues to grow—it’s a part of his legacy. For years, he’s known that to make that growth happen, the iconic American floor-care brand should consider expanding into China, home to the world’s largest middle-income population. But at first, the idea of doing business in the country was daunting.

In 2020, Bissell had a breakthrough. Drawing on Alibaba’s consumer insights, he learned that since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, demand for floor-care products had shot up 14 percent among Chinese consumers. Equipped with that knowledge, along with a means of selling BISSELL products in China through Alibaba’s TMall, he was able to break into the largest e-commerce market on the planet.

“We wouldn’t have been successful in China without Alibaba,” Bissell said. “And if we want to continue to be the number-one [floor-care] brand in the world, we’ve got to be successful in China.”

More than three years later, BISSELL’s foothold in the Chinese market has continued to grow stronger, as the company has increased its sales on Tmall, where more than 1 billion Chinese consumers shop. Alibaba has been “integral” to the company’s success in China, Bissell said, by supplying him and his colleagues with consumer insights, optimizing their marketing and merchandising strategies and otherwise guiding them through the intricacies of the Chinese e-commerce landscape.

“If you go into Tmall and you search ‘vacuum cleaner,’ you’re competing with a sea of products,” Bissell said. “Early on, we partnered with Tmall, and they gave us some tips and tricks in terms of how we should merchandise our products on-site to gain awareness. The feedback from the Tmall team is really what propelled us to be successful.”

BISSELL has already experienced “quite a bit of growth” in China since first entering the market, Bissell said, and he only expects things to go up from here. As it stands, China is the second-largest floor care market in the world—but only roughly 10 percent of households in the country have vacuum cleaners, Bissell said.

“Second in the world with such a low household penetration, there’s definitely upside,” Bissell said. “If I look at a macro view, I would say those kinds of trends are true for probably every [product] category—such a big consumer base, growing middle class, willingness to try new products, and an interest in trying, testing and learning on Western brands. So I think there’s a pretty big opportunity for U.S. companies.”

BISSELL is not the only American company to find success in China through Alibaba’s online marketplace. In 2022, U.S. brands large and small—from musical instrument manufacturers to packaged food brands to fashion designers—sold $66 billion in products via Alibaba’s online marketplace, according to the latest study from NDP Analytics, a Washington, D.C.-based research firm. That’s a 47 percent increase since 2019.

“Over the years, U.S. businesses have achieved remarkable sales on Alibaba’s online marketplace,” said Eric Pelletier, Head of International Government Affairs at Alibaba Group. “With over 1 billion Chinese consumers shopping on Alibaba’s online marketplace alone, that’s a tremendous opportunity for American brands looking to grow sales and expand beyond their domestic market.”

Crucial to capitalizing on that opportunity, Pelletier says, are the unique tools Alibaba offers U.S. businesses that partner with them. Along with helping them set up shop on Tmall, Alibaba collaborates with American brands to help them understand shopping behaviors, engagement strategies, shipping logistics, and more that helps ensure their foray into the Chinese e-commerce market goes smoothly.

“The success story of BISSELL highlights the transformative impact Alibaba has on brands that choose to do business with us,” Pelletier said. “By leveraging Alibaba’s insights, BISSELL not only met the demands of the Chinese market, but successfully translated that knowledge into a successful global product.”

When an American business finds success in China through Alibaba, there are knock-on benefits back home, both on a macro and local level. Sales by U.S. companies on Alibaba have contributed $52.9 billion to the U.S. GDP, reflecting a 35 percent increase since 2020; supported 403,000 American jobs, a 57 percent increase from 2020; and generated $36 billion in U.S. wages, a 73 percent increase from 2020, the NDP Analytics study found. When American companies generate sales on Alibaba, they “spark a ripple effect along supply chains and in communities across the country,” said Mary Donovan, Principal and Senior Economist at NDP Analytics, who co-authored the study.

“Think of a company like BISSELL,” Donovan explained. “The increase in sales from orders via Alibaba requires BISSELL to ramp up their own operations to meet demand. At the same time, companies along its supply chain must increase production to fulfill BISSELL’s new orders, which requires additional labor. Finally, the new workers hired by BISSELL and its suppliers along the supply chain use their wages to purchase goods and services in their communities.”

For his part, Max Bissell said he continues to feel “bullish on the opportunity in China,” whose growing e-commerce market now generates roughly 50 percent of all online sales globally.^[1] While it might feel intimidating for U.S. companies to take a first step into the country, Bissell said, the rewards are well worth it—and with Alibaba’s help, they won’t be walking it alone.

“I would encourage other brands in the West to look at selling product on [Alibaba],” Bissell said. “Every year, there are new marketing services and ways to get your product in front of consumers. For us, it’s been incredibly important to our overall success in the China market.”

---